The Christmas Miracle or Curse?
by Midnight Princess Rose
Summary: A death in the turtles family happens just one week before Christmas. What happens when one turtle is given the chance to live a second life as a human being but without any memories of his previous life or family? Is this a Christmas miracle or a curse?


Chapter One: Incomplete

The lair was oddly quiet that cold December night which was a rare occurrence given the fact that there was normally the sound of video games blaring from the many monitors that served as one main television set. All the training equipment lay piled in a giant heap at one corner of the room and no smell of baking pizza came from the kitchen that was almost always being used to make every kind of pizza known to both man and turtle.

The only sound that could be heard was the sound of a lone walking stick making contact with the cold concrete as Master Splinter emerged from his meditation room with a solemn look upon his face. From behind the couch in the middle of the living room, three heads slowly made themselves visible and blue, red and purple masks turned to face their master with hopeful glances. The pained look in the old rat's eyes however quickly vanquished any hope the brothers had been hanging onto and it was Donatello who broke down first.

An anguished cry escaped the second youngest turtle's throat as Donatello slumped against Raphael, who did his best to comfort his younger brother by awkwardly patting his shoulder for he was not the kind of turtle that was known for showing compassion but rather anger and violence. While two of his brothers sought comfort in one another, Leonardo simply sat there with a look of utter disbelief upon his face as he struggled to keep his trembling lip under control.

He was the oldest of his brothers and there was no way that he was going to break down in front of them. He just couldn't, given the fact that he was the reason why there were only three turtles sitting on the couch that cold December night instead of two. If only he had not insisted on going out on patrol that night and had listened to Mikey's suggestion of staying home to wrap Christmas presents then maybe their youngest brother would still be with them.

Leonardo's gaze slowly travelled over to the empty space on the couch on the opposite end of Raphael where Mikey would have normally sat and he felt his façade all but shatter when he caught sight of four Christmas cards peeking out from the corner of the couch. Those were the exact same cards that Mikey had stuck there before they had left for patrol and the colored envelopes were dead giveaways as to who it was the cards were for. Tears slowly began to fall from Leo's eyes as he bowed his head and allowed his body to begin shaking as the guilt finally caught up with him.

Mikey was dead and it was all his fault. Nothing in the entire world would bring back Mikey's carefree smile and his unique ability to lighten up any and all situations that presented themselves. There would be no more laughter as one of Mikey's pranks on his family actually succeeded and there would be no more videogames being blared from the television late at night. Leonardo's fists clenched tightly against the sides of his head at the thought and he soon began to cry as well while Master Splinter silently watched his three remaining sons with a look of anguish upon his face.

Words would not bring Michelangelo back to them and no bandages could mend the broken hearts of his sons. All that they had was Mikey's memories and his lifeless corpse lying in the meditation room where he had brought his youngest son in the hopes that he could die in peace if it were truly his time. The old rat's head slowly turned towards the direction of the meditation room where the closed door blocked the sight of Michelangelo's covered body that had been covered in a white sheet out of respect to both him and his brothers so they would not have to see the fatal wound to the young turtle's heart where Shredder had attempted to embed his claws only to fatally slice his son instead.

Splinter shivered slightly at the thought as his grip on his walking stick tightened to the point the wood began to creak and the old rat wished that there was something he could do to help his sons through the coping process. Michelangelo had been the glue that had held the family together even if he had not realized it and Splinter wished that his son had known just how much he meant to his family. Biting his bottom lip at the thought, Splinter slowly closed his eyes as the chorus of now all three of his sons cries filled their sewer home and their echoes carried up to the streets above.

"Michelangelo, I wish that you could have seen how much you meant to your brothers. How much you meant to me…find peace now my son. May you always find your way back to us no matter how difficult the road…"

To be continued…

A/N: First fanfiction ever! Woot! Anyway, I do not own TMNT or any of the characters involved. I simply own the plot idea and nothing else so please, read and review. I always value feedback for it helps me become a better writer just don't be too harsh now alright?


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